Where is my roof leak actually coming from?
By Houston Kincaid, President · 23 years in roofing
Published October 31, 2026
Usually not where the stain is. Water gets in at a seam (a pipe boot, the flashing where the roof meets a wall or chimney, a valley or a skylight), then runs along the decking or a rafter before it drips. Look uphill of the stain first. If the drip only shows up on dry days, it may not be the roof at all.
The stain is rarely under the hole
Water that gets past the shingles doesn’t fall straight down. It runs along the underside of the roof deck, follows a rafter or a nail, and drips wherever it finally lets go. By the time it reaches your ceiling, it can be several feet downhill from where it got in.
That’s why patching the spot above a stain so often fails. The real opening is somewhere uphill, usually at a seam.
Why Richmond-area roofs find their weak spots
Richmond gets about 45.5 inches of rain in a normal year, and about 12 days bring an inch or more, according to NOAA’s 1991–2020 climate normals for Richmond International Airport.1 Those heavy days are when a slow seam finally lets go and a stain appears.
The houses matter too. About 68% of homes in the City of Richmond were built before 1980, and so were about 37% in Henrico, 32% in Hanover and 27% in Chesterfield, according to the Census Bureau.2 On an older house, the flashing around chimneys and walls may be original, or patched more than once.
Where leaks start: the seams on your roof
A roof’s open field of shingles rarely leaks on its own until the roof is old. The trouble is almost always where something breaks through the roof or where two surfaces meet. Virginia’s building code calls for flashing at exactly these places: wall and roof intersections, changes in roof slope, and around roof openings.3
Here’s how common each one was on the roofs we measured and priced between October 2025 and October 2026:4
| On your roof | Share of roofs we priced | How it leaks | Where the stain usually shows up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipe boots (the rubber collars around plumbing vents) | 83% | The rubber dries out and cracks in the sun | A round spot near a bathroom or kitchen ceiling |
| A wall the roof runs into (dormers, second stories, additions) | 63% | Step flashing behind the siding has gaps or was never woven in | On the wall below the joint, or around a window |
| A chimney | 44% | Flashing pulls away; brick and mortar soak up water | On the ceiling or wall next to the chimney chase |
| Skylights | 12% | The seal or the flashing around it fails | Around the skylight well |
| Valleys (where two roof slopes meet) | Any roof with more than one slope | Water concentrates and wears the shingles thin | Inside corners of rooms below the valley |
One more stood out. About 3 in 10 of the chimney roofs we priced needed a cricket built: a small peaked section behind the chimney that splits the water around it. Virginia’s code requires one behind any chimney more than 30 inches wide.3 Without it, water and leaves pile up behind the chimney and find their way in.
Narrow it down in 10 minutes, from inside
You don’t need a ladder for this. Please stay off the roof, especially when it’s wet.
1. Notice when it drips. The timing tells you more than the stain does.
| It drips… | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Only in hard, steady rain | Worn valley, pipe boot, or flashing |
| Only when rain blows from one direction | Wall or chimney flashing on that side of the house |
| A day or two after the rain stops | Water trapped in the insulation or a slow chimney leak |
| On cold mornings when it hasn’t rained | Condensation in the attic, often a bath fan venting into the attic |
| When the air conditioning runs | A clogged AC drain line in the attic, not the roof |
Cold-morning drips are common here. Richmond averages about 74 nights a year at or below freezing.1 That’s plenty of chances for warm, damp air to condense on a cold roof deck.
2. Check the attic, if you can get there safely. Step only on the joists. Shine a flashlight on the underside of the roof uphill of the stain. Look for dark or shiny wood, rusty nail tips, and wet or matted insulation. Put a piece of tape or a marker next to anything you find.
3. Take three photos. The ceiling stain, whatever you found in the attic, and the outside of the roof above it from the yard (zoom in from the ground). Note the date and what the weather was doing. Those photos are often enough for us to know where to look before we arrive.
If it’s dripping right now
Catch the water and move anything valuable out of the way. If water is near a light fixture, turn that circuit off at the breaker. If the ceiling is sagging with water, poke a small hole at the lowest point with a screwdriver and let it drain into a bucket. A controlled drip does less damage than a ceiling that gives way.
Then call us. Leave the roof for daylight and a dry surface.
Sometimes it isn’t the roof
Plenty of “roof leaks” turn out to be something else:
- AC drain lines in the attic that clog and overflow. Code calls for a backup drain or an overflow pan under attic AC coils for exactly this reason, but not every install has one.5
- Bathroom fans that vent into the attic. Virginia’s code says exhaust must go outdoors, never into an attic, soffit or ridge vent.6 When it doesn’t, you get frost and drips on cold mornings.
- Gutters that overflow behind the fascia and into the top of the wall
- Windows and siding, where water gets in at the wall and shows up on the ceiling below
If that’s what we find, we’ll show you and tell you who to call.
What Houston does on a leak visit
Houston Kincaid has been in roofing for 23 years. On a leak visit he starts inside, at the stain and in the attic, then walks the roof and works uphill from the wet spot to the opening. He photographs what he finds, so you see the cracked boot or the gap in the flashing for yourself.
If a repair will hold, that’s what he’ll price. If the roof is worn out everywhere and patching would only move the leak, he’ll show you why and price the repair and a roof replacement side by side. How to tell the difference.
The inspection is free.
Footnotes
-
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Richmond International Airport (station USW00013740): annual precipitation 45.50 in., 11.8 days with 1.00 in. or more, 73.5 days with a low at or below 32°F. Climate normals · station data ↩ ↩2
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U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, Table B25034 (Year Structure Built), all housing units. Built 1979 or earlier: Richmond city 68%, Henrico 37%, Hanover 32%, Chesterfield 27%. Table B25034 ↩
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2021 Virginia Residential Code, Sections R903.2.1 (flashing locations) and R903.2.2 (crickets and saddles). Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies ↩ ↩2
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BNH Roofing estimates, October 2025 to October 2026: every shingle roof we measured and priced in the Richmond area. Each percentage is the share of those roofs whose estimate included that item (pipe boots, step flashing, chimney flashing, skylight flashing, chimney crickets). ↩
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2021 Virginia Residential Code, Section M1411.3.1 (auxiliary and secondary drain systems). Chapter 14 ↩
-
2021 Virginia Residential Code, Section M1501.1 (outdoor discharge). Chapter 15, Exhaust Systems ↩
Common questions
Can you find a leak when it isn't raining?
Most of the time, yes. A cracked pipe boot, loose flashing or a stained roof deck shows up dry. When it doesn't, the photos and notes you took during the last rain are what point us to the right spot.
Is it the roof or the gutters?
If the stain is at the outside edge of a ceiling or the top of an exterior wall, and it shows up when the gutters overflow, check the gutters first. Clogged gutters can push water behind the fascia and into the wall.
My roof is only a few years old and it's leaking. Who do I call?
The company that installed it, first. Most new-roof leaks are at flashing or a pipe boot, which a workmanship warranty usually covers. Have your contract and warranty paperwork handy.
Will you run a hose over my roof to find the leak?
No. Soaking a roof can push water into places it never leaked and leave you with a wet ceiling for nothing. Water leaves a trail on the decking and rafters, so Houston follows that trail from the inside, then checks the seams above it from the roof.
Will you tell me if it isn't a roof problem?
Yes. If the water is coming from an AC line, a bath fan or a window, we'll show you what we found and tell you who to call.
